Not Related

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

February 21, 1989

I WAS disturbed by your Feb. 6 article on Satanism. The killing of cats, or any other living thing is appalling to me. I agree that the public needs to be educated about such acts so we may prevent them to the best of our ability.

I am equally upset, however, by your association of Satanism with witchcraft. The two are not related by any means. Witchcraft, more properly known as the religion ''Wicca'' or the 'Old Religion,' has been around thousands of years longer than even Christianity, from which Satanism was spawned. Wiccans do not believe in the Christian God, but they do respect it as a valid religion.

If, though, they do not believe in ''god,'' logically they cannot believe in or worship Satan, who is of Christian invention. Wiccans have one rule, the Wiccan Rede: ''An' it harm none, do what thou wilt.'' 'None' includes other people and animals, as well as yourself. To mutilate a cat is to go against all that the Wiccans believe in. I have five cats, a dog, a bird and a snake, and wouldn't dream of hurting them, nor any other animals.

Although I do not follow the beliefs of the Bible, I am reading it. I intend to read both testaments from beginning to end. I wish to be well-

informed, not ignorant, of Christianity's principles, because I have good friends and family who are Christians.

A good book on the differences between witchcraft and Satanism is Dr. Leo Louis Martello's Witchcraft: The Old Religion published by Citadel Press. Those who are afraid to read should keep their mouths as closed as they keep their minds.